City of Saskatoon Will No Longer Restrict Use of "RMT"

This fall, NHPC members in Saskatchewan were urged to help create a change and a reversal of the City of Saskatoon Business Licensing restriction on the use of RMT. Members were urged to take action and stop the misuse of official mark registrations in an attempt to control health-care regulation in non-regulated provinces.

We are pleased to report that your voice was heard and the City of Saskatoon has removed any restriction on the use of "RMT" in massage business license applications. The City of Saskatoon will now only provide massage business licenses to massage therapists who are members of either the NHPC or MTAS with no restrictions on the use of RMT.

Letter from the City of Saskatoon

Dear Paul and Colleen,

I want to thank you for meeting with us a few weeks ago. The exchange of information was extremely helpful and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future.

We would like to reiterate that we are committed to maintaining the integrity of businesses performing massage. As such, we will continue to license only those businesses as massage (either in their business name and/or description) which have provided proof that they are certified in the field (either through MTAS or NHPC); in accordance with our License Bylaw No. 6066. Those who are not affiliated with either organization will not be permitted to use massage in their name or description.

As discussed, in order to ensure that those permitted to perform massage are licensed accordingly, we would like to be notified if any member of your organization is no longer a member or is not in good standing. Upon such notification, we will advise the licensee that they are not permitted to hold a license using the terms “massage,” and we will suspend the license within 30 days if they have not provided new proof of qualification.

With regards to the use of the Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) designation, the City of Saskatoon does not enforce or regulate trademarks, designations or titles for any other profession or business, and, as such, will not regulate the use of the term RMT on business licenses for those licensed to do massage. In other words, applicants who are approved for massage (members in good standing with MTAS or NHPC) will be able to use the term RMT if they wish, as the City of Saskatoon has no jurisdiction regulating such trademarks or titles. This is in line with the way other professions are licensed by the City – for example, we do not regulate the use of CA or M.D. designations, as these are the responsibility of the respective trademark holder or professional association.

As mentioned during our meeting, the City of Saskatoon licenses businesses to ensure compliance with the Zoning Bylaw and land-use regulations. While a business license is required for any business operating in the City, it does not verify the quality of work performed or control the use of designations or business trademarks (and the use of such trademarks on business correspondence).

Based on this reasoning, we trust that you are in agreement with our decision. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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